University of Saskatchewan researchers will soon use $5 million in funding to test the effectiveness of newly developed vaccines to protect cattle against contagious bovine pleuropneumonia in Kenya.
Scientists from the university’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization will work together over the next 40 months to see if they have a successful vaccine for the bacterial infection. It is highly contagious and kills a large percentage of infected animals.
The infectious lung disease is an important disease in North America, affecting cattle and bison, but it’s also a big issue in sub-Saharan Africa, where it affects the livelihood of 24 million Africans and causes more than $60 million in losses each year.
The project is supported by Canada’s International Development Research Centre and Foreign Affairs and Trade and Development Canada under the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund.
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